Does Your Target Audience Notice Your Story?

In such a content-cluttered world, the odds are not in your brand’s favor. Consumers have grown overwhelmed and hesitate to make a purchase before consulting their peers first.

So how can you convince consumers you’re worth their time?

Partner with influencers. To successfully impact your audience with an influencer marketing strategy, you’ll need to integrate paid, earned, shared and owned media. Here’s what will happen when you do:

Earn More Trust

On an average day, your target audience will come across 362 ads and 5,000 brand exposures. But how many of those will they actually notice and read?

Ninety-two percent of consumers trust recommendations from their peers over branded content. Peers can include family and friends as well as influencers like bloggers, industry experts or social media stars. By partnering with influencers, audiences will start to pay attention to your messages and view your brand in a different light.

Keep in mind that trust must be earned from each target influencer before they commit to or talk about your brand. Strive to keep interactions genuine, be human in your outreach and continue to nurture relationships once an influencer has agreed to partner with your brand.

Grow Your Audience

While some of their followers will overlap with your brand’s, chances are there are more who have not yet noticed or interacted with your brand.

When researching influencers, pay close attention to shared interests, industry and preferred communication platforms. The likeliness of expanding your audience base depends on whether or not influencers align with your goals and vision.

Keep in mind that influencers with larger followings should not necessarily be your go-to choice. Use social listening toolsto get a more in-depth look at the influencer’s audience and how they react to what the influencer posts. Engaged followers will drive more results.

Drive More Awareness

Not only do influencers produce an average ROI of $6 for every dollar spent, 72 percent are likely to share additional posts outside of their paid agreements. The likeliness of this happening stems from how a brand treats their influencers.

Provide pre-crafted social posts or ask them contribute to a blog post or webinar. When you offer influencers opportunities to speak to your audiences, they will be more likely to express their gratitude publicly. The followers that see this interaction might just share it too.

Keep in mind that influencers should not be left forgotten or ignored once they start mentioning your brand. Remember to thank them and continue to nurture the relationship. You may want to call on them again in the future, and if your relationship remains positive, they will be likely to help.

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Katie Gaab is a content marketing specialist for Cision. Previously the senior editor for Help A Reporter Out (HARO), she enjoys connecting audiences to exciting, new content. She's a dancer, avid concert-goer, foreign language nerd and book worm. Find her on Twitter @kathryngaab.